Following from afar: Malaysia’s competition law looks to Europe

Following from afar: Malaysia’s competition law looks to Europe

As at January 1, 2014, the Malaysian Competition Act 2010 (CA 2010) has been in force for two years. For those in Malaysia tasked with enforcing the new law, those two years will have passed very quickly. Malaysia joined more than 120 countries in the world that have competition laws. The path to enacting the legislation was long; it took the Malaysian government more than 10 years to enact the CA 2010. With so many competition laws already in place, Malaysia has the advantage of being able to draw on the experience of the many competition authorities around the world willing to provide assistance and support. Similarly, there is a wealth of case law available which can be referred to, or relied on, as Malaysia sees appropriate.

Those familiar with the UK competition legislation will recognise many aspects of the CA 2010. Being a Commonwealth country with a British common law system, perhaps this is not surprising. What is striking is that Malaysia has not incorporated much of the Australian legislation, the most well-established competition regime in the Asia-Pacific region and a country with whom
has drawn heavily on the UK law and jurisprudence and where the Australian regime may provide some useful guidance going forward.

This article outlines the CA 2010, identifying where it has drawn heavily on the UK law and jurisprudence and where the Australian regime may provide some useful guidance going forward. It will consider what approach the Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC) has taken to enforcement, what it has achieved so far and will conclude by considering what the MyCC should seek to achieve in the next two years.

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